Srinivasa Mangapuram – Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy

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Srinivasa Mangapuram:

The holy place to which the Supreme deity of kaliyuga Sri Venkateswara Swamy along with His consort Sri Padmavathi Devi after their marriage for a stay of six months is Srinivasa Mangapuram. The deity of the temple is Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy who is known for his consideration towards the devotees who are in dire need of God’s blessings and he is to bless all the devotees liberally.

Legend:

There is an interesting Sthala purana behind celebrations of Annual Sakshatkara Vaibhavotsavam. Sri Venkateswara Swamy married the daughter of Akasaraja Sri Padmavathi Devi in Narayanavanam and started journey towards his residence at Tirumala. On the way he reached the Agastya Maharshi Asram which is situated on the banks of Swarnamukhi River and received his hospitality. In those days, there was a rule that the newly edded couple should not climb the hill for six months Hence, Sri Venkateswara Swamy along with His consort Sri Padmavathi Devi lived for Six months in Maharshi’s Asram. After six months, he started his journey to Tirumala Sri Venkateswara Swamy gracefully granted the wish of Agastya Maharshi to remain himself as Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy there. The place is present Srinivasamangapuram.

Srinivasa Mangapuram is situated 12 kilometers away from Tirupati town. As it happens to be the place where Srinivasaswamy lived, it is called Srinivasapuram. Later, it came to be known popularly by the people as Srinivasa Mangapuram. In ancient days the devotees who wished to Tirumala used to pass through Srivari mettu which is situated six kilometers in the north of Srinivasamangapuram temple. In those days, the devotees used to have their darshan of Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy situated in Srinivasa Mangapuram. It is also believed that Sri Venkateswara Swamy himself used to pass through this place after his marriage. The holy temple of Sri Venkateswara Swamy in Tirumala hills is parallel to the Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy Temple situated at the ground level in Srinivasamangapuram.

Various Utsavas are performed by the Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams every year on different occasions to Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy of Srinivasamangapuram who is treated by equally on par with Sri Venkateswara Swamy of Tirumala by devotees. Among all these utsavas, the Annual Sakshatkara Vaibhavotsavam is the most important one. These utsvas are conducted on a grand scale every year in the month of Ashadam for three days. (This year Annual Sakshatkara Vaibhavotsavam will be held from June 28th to 30th).

Evident from the Inscription:

Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy is receiving the puja of devotees from the ancient days, the temple of Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy reached its state of dilapidation. As such, the grandson of Sri Tallapaka Annamacharya, Chinna Tirumalacharya (Chinnanna) renovated the temple and performed puja to Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy. This fact is evident from the Inscription dated March 22nd 1510 at the entrance of the temple. Later, the temple retained its glory from a number of years till it lost in 20th Century. In 1940, an Archaka by name Sri Sundara Raja Swamy of Kanchi came to Srinivasamangapuram. Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy appeared in the dream to Sundara Raja Swamy and ordered him to see that the temple area to be cleaned and the pujas to be continued. As such Sundara Raja swamy took the help of the local people to clean the bushes in the temple premises and started regular pujas. Sundara Rajaswamy conducted puja of Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy on July 11 in 1940 That day was Ashada Sukla paksha Shasht that day was the day on which the great deity showed his blessings through His holy appearance before the devotees. Taking this as an auspicious occasion, The Tirumala Tirupati Devasthanams started celebrating the “Sakshatkara Vaibhavotsavams” every year.

Sakshatkaram:

The holy appearance of the deity before the devotees is called Sakshatkaram or Darshan. Taking this occasion of the deity holy appearance, the Festival is celebrated and hence, it is called Sakshatkara Vaibhavotsavam. This festival is celebrated for three days i.e. previous day and the following day including the day on which His holiness appeared i.e., Ashada sudda shasti.

Three Day Festival:

On the First day of these celebrations the processional delty of Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy along with His consorts are taken out in a procession from the temple to the kalyana mandapa Tirumanjanam (Celestial Bath) is conducted between 10.00 a.m. and 11.30 a.m. In the evening Unjal Seva will be performed. At night, the processional deity of Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy along with His consorts is taken out in a procession on Golden Tiruchi around four Mada streets Similarly, on the second day Hanumantha Vahana Seva is celebrated. On the Third day night, the Garuda Vahana Seva is performed Taking into consideration, the holy day on which the Lord made his appearance before the devotees, the three day festival of Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy is celebrated with the worshipping of the devotees and in return the Lord blesses them. In these Sakshatkara Vaibhavotsavams, the Darshan of the Sri Kalyana Venkateswara Swamy results in the endless blessings on the Devotees.